Prior art fin systems for attaching to surfboards and sailboards are well known. Fins can be permanently fixed to the bottom of a surfboard or can be part of a removal fin system wherein the fins are fixed with short screws or are wedged in fin boxes.
Where fins are to be permanently fitted to a surfboard, the fin must be positioned accurately on the bottom of the surfboard and must be fibreglassed into the material of the surfboard. This requires shaping and sanding of the fin base to achieve a smooth contour with the under surface of the surfboard that is labour intensive.
Removable fin systems such as those marketed by FCS™ and O'Fish' L™, Red X™ have the disadvantage of having to be mounted by cutting into the surfboard to attach a fin box or fin holders resulting in a weakening of the region around the fins. A limitation of current fin systems is also that they can cause damage to the entire surfboard when the fins are forcibly broken off such as in rough sea conditions or by a collision with a coral reef or other hard objects. A further disadvantage of current fin systems is that the blade size and shape of the fins can cause serious injury to surfers and other swimmers. Such injuries are prevalent in difficult to control situations such as in rough or big surf or in surfboard collisions or wipeouts. As modern surfboards are also tethered by leg ropes, fins of a recoiling surfboard can also be highly dangerous to the rider and other swimmers around him/her. Present solutions to damaged glassed in fins which is also common occurrence when surfboards are transported or damaged in the surf result in a manufacturer having to retain the surfboard to effect repairs which are both time consuming and labour intensive. In addition, if the repaired or replaced fin is not precisely positioned during the repairs, the performance of the surfboard will also be affected. Replacement of individual fins is an expensive process.